The official interest rates of the Eurosystem are:
Date | Deposit facility | Main refinancing operations | Main refinancing operations | Marginal lending facility | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
With effect from | Fixed rate tenders Fixed rate | Variable rate tenders Minimum bid rate | |||
2019 | 18 Sep. | -0.50 | 0.00 | - | 0.25 |
2016 | 16 Mar. | −0.40 | 0.00 | - | 0.25 |
2015 | 9 Dec. | −0.30 | 0.05 | - | 0.30 |
2014 | 10 Sep. | −0.20 | 0.05 | - | 0.30 |
11 Jun. | −0.10 | 0.15 | - | 0.40 | |
2013 | 13 Nov. | 0.00 | 0.25 | - | 0.75 |
8 May. | 0.00 | 0.50 | - | 1.00 | |
2012 | 11 Jul. | 0.00 | 0.75 | - | 1.50 |
2011 | 14 Dec. | 0.25 | 1.00 | - | 1.75 |
9 Nov. | 0.50 | 1.25 | - | 2.00 | |
13 Jul. | 0.75 | 1.50 | - | 2.25 | |
13 Apr. | 0.50 | 1.25 | - | 2.00 |
The Eurosystem’s official interest rates are key for implementing monetary policy and signalling the monetary policy stance.
The rate on the marginal lending facility normally provides a ceiling for the overnight interbank market interest rate, whereas the rate on the deposit facility normally provides a floor. In a normal liquidity environment, a corridor is thus provided for the development of the overnight interbank market interest rate.
Official interest rates play an important role in the formation of the short-term interest rates in the euro area interbank money market.
The EURIBOR rates (short for Euro Interbank Offered Rate) are the benchmark rates of the euro money market for maturities ranging from one week to one year.
These rates are also used as reference rates in a wide range of financial products, such as variable-rate housing loans and interest rate instruments (bonds and derivatives). They correspond to rates at which credit institutions in EU and EFTA countries can borrow in euro in the wholesale unsecured money market for the various maturities.
In August 2016, EURIBOR rates were declared a critical benchmark of systemic importance for the financial system by the European Commission.
The EURIBOR rates are calculated following a hybrid methodology which prioritises, where possible, the use of real transactions in the money market. In the absence of transactions, the hybrid methodology relies on other market price sources and expert judgement to ensure Euribor’s rates robustness.
The European Money Markets Institute (EMMI) is the administrator of these rates. This institute performs an annual assessment of the determination methodology for EURIBOR rates.
The EURIBOR rates are considered compliant with the EU Benchmark Regulation.
The euro short-term rate (€STR) is the new reference interest rate for the euro overnight money market and is also considered the euro risk-free interest rate. This rate was published by its administrator, the ECB, for the first time on 2 October 2019.
The €STR is based on daily borrowing transactions in the euro unsecured overnight money market that are conducted both in the interbank market and with other financial entities other than banks, such as insurance corporations, pension funds or money market funds.
The EONIA (Euro OverNight Index Average) rate is a reference interest rate for the overnight maturity in the euro money market, which will be discontinued at the end of 2021 and replaced by the €STR.
Until 30 September 2019, EONIA had been computed as a weighted average of overnight unsecured lending transactions in the euro interbank market, and had been computed from the daily quotes of a panel of reference banks in the euro money market.
From 2 October 2019 to the end of 2021, EONIA is calculated on the basis of the €STR, plus a fixed spread (+8.5 basis points).